389-Tiny Spacecraft

389-Tiny Spacecraft

Author: Albert D. Grauer September 29, 2017 Duration: 2:01
About the size of a saltine cracker and having a mass of less than 2 dimes, the single-board Sprite spacecraft has all the essentials; solar panels, computing electronics, thermometers, gyroscopes, radio communication equipment and more.

Each episode of Travelers In The Night feels like a quiet, personal conversation under a dark sky. Hosted by astronomer Dr. Albert D. Grauer, this podcast brings the distant cosmos into sharp, intimate focus. Dr. Grauer isn't just an observer; he's an active participant in the hunt, working with the Catalina Sky Survey team that has consistently discovered near-Earth asteroids for years. In these brief and engaging segments, you'll hear firsthand accounts of what it's like to track these ancient celestial travelers-the asteroids and comets that silently pass by our world. The discussions move beyond simple facts to explore the real-world implications of these discoveries, from planetary defense to the sheer wonder of our dynamic solar system. Accompanied by the contemplative music of John Lyell's "Eternity," each installment offers a moment of calm reflection on humanity's place in the universe. It’s a perfect blend of grounded science and cosmic curiosity, making complex astronomical concepts accessible and deeply fascinating. For anyone who has ever looked up and wondered what's out there moving in the dark, this podcast provides a direct line to the front lines of discovery.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 1000

Travelers In The Night
Podcast Episodes
659-Martian Debris(382) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Martian Trojan asteroids have stable orbits around the Sun, leading and trailing the red planet by 60 degrees, where the Sun's and Mars's gravity are balanced. The impact more than 4 billion years or so ago which blasted…
147E-159-Good News [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Recently my NASA funded Catalina Sky Survey teammate Carson Fuls discovered an approaching asteroid about the same size as the one whose high altitude disintegration injured nearly 1500 people in Chelyabinsk Russia in Fe…
658-Fireball II(418) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Recently there were four fireball meteors, brighter than the planet Venus, which exploded over Germany, France, Ohio, and Arizona within the space of only 10 hours. There are likely to be on the order of 1,000 fireball e…
146E-158-Know A Star [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
How would you like to know more about a particular star than anyone else on Earth?
657-Plant Companionship(407) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
On Earth, human life is enabled by plants which provide us with calories, vitamins, fuel, medicines, and oxygen to breathe. In addition, recent scientific studies indicate that plant cultivation reduces anxiety and depre…
145E-157-Kissing Frogs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
An asteroid hunter literally has to sort through millions of objects to find an unknown Earth approaching asteroid.
656-Moons of Florence(399) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The largest asteroid to come near the Earth in 100 years has two moons.
144E-156-Close Ones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
In the space of less than ten nights, my Catalina Sky Survey teammates discovered 8 new Earth approaching objects. One of them can pass closer to us than our communication satellites.
655-Finding Space Rocks(391) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Finding a meteorite that has traveled billions of miles through space to reach it's present location is exciting. It might even be worth real money.
143E-155-Full Moon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
For some people the full Moon is for howling. For asteroid hunters it is time to regroup and make improvements in the process of finding Earth approaching objects.